devotional 12-30-10

December 31, 2010

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

During the Christmas season, I see a lot of fruit for sale and in homes. Bands sell them as a fund raiser, grocery stores put them on display as you walk in and normally a gift of a fruit basket can be seen in most homes. During this season of joy, I think Luke’s scripture of Jesus is a perfect reminder for us.

As we purchase gifts for family and friends and extend warm greetings of “Merry Christmas” we need to ask ourselves — are we living a Christ-centered life?  Many people enjoy the Christmas Season without giving a thought to the birth of the Christ Child. This does not make us “bad fruit.”  On the contrary, it is a reminder to all that the secular world has captured the Season for commercial use.  However, we need to be reminded amid all of the gift giving of that greatest of gifts!  Christ was born so that we may have eternal life!  This gift is free for the taking!  So, during this Holiday Season take a moment to remember what and why we are celebrating. 

My hope and my prayer for each of us is that we will look at a basket of fruit as a new reminder of the gifts and blessings we receive not just this Season but also every day!

Prayer:  Father we thank you for this day, this season, this birth.  We are unworthy yet you give us grace, peace without cost to us.  Open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to your word that we may bear good fruit in the witness of your life. Amen

Devotional 12-29-10

A Prayer for Advent

Gracious God, how grateful we are during this Advent season to know that you have visited and redeemed your people! We praise you for fulfilling your promises to the ancient prophets in bestowing upon all people the gift of a Savior.

During this blessed season, may our hearts be filled with Christian joy.

May the Christmas carols speak to us of the glory of the newborn King.

May the excitement of children remind us of the One who suffered little ones to come unto Him.

May the spirit of good will which is so manifest during these days illustrate for us the blessed transformation which occurs when we turn our attention to Jesus Christ.

Will you help us, as we anticipate our Lord’s birthday, to be more aware than we usually are of the needs and feelings of others.

May our conversations be more cheerful, our smiles more genuine, and our patience more sincere.

May the greetings we send and the gifts we exchange be outward expressions of an inward love and adoration.

We pray in Jesus’ name and for His sake.

Rev. Joseph Casey

Devotional 12-28-10

Ephesians 1: 3 – 14

In verses 4 and 5 of today’s Lectionary Reading, the Apostle Paul raises the issue of predestination in his letter to the church at Ephesus. Verse 4 states as follows: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world….

Although I have a rudimentary idea about the concept of predestination I was by no means confident that I really understood the import of the above scripture. So, I decided to do some research. Unger’s Bible Dictionary referred me to the term “election” when I looked up “predestination.” I discovered that the subject was more complex than can be dealt with in a daily meditation, but I decided to give it a try. Apparently there are two differing views of the concept.

The first view is the Calvinistic View of unconditional election, which regards the election of salvation as absolute and unconditional by virtue of an eternal divine decree. Augustine first taught this doctrine, and it was formally accepted by the church in A.D. 529 in the Canons of the Council of Orange, approved by Pope Boniface II. The doctrine was later promoted in the Protestant Church by John Calvin and adopted by The Westminster Confession, the standard of the Church of Scotland.

The second view is known as The Arminian View which regards election to salvation as conditional based upon repentance and faith. This view grounds itself, in opposition to Calvinism, upon the universality of atonement and the restoration of freedom of human will. Grace is therefore contingent and not an absolute. We can attain salvation by acceptance of God’s grace. John Wesley and his followers were largely responsible for the development and practice of The Arminian View.

I suspect that Paul was more of an adherent to the Calvinistic view of salvation. (See also Romans 8: 29 – 30.) However, I was happy to see that we as Methodists adhere to the view promoted by John Wesley. It appears to me that it would be difficult to reconcile the strict Calvinistic view of predetermination with the New Testament gospel of forgiveness through repentance and grace. If your fate is already predetermined what would be the point of evangelism? I really believe, as one author pointed out, that predestination might be better explained by stating that God in His wisdom knows who will attain salvation and who will not. But the number is not really predetermined. It is still up to each of us to determine our own salvation.

Lee Oxley

Devotional 12-27-10

Read John 1:10-18

Word of Heaven, Word of Earth,
Word of Life, and Light, and Birth.
Word made flesh, a baby child,
Word in a manger, meek and mild.

Spoken Word, they would not hear;
Word of love, they chose to fear.
Word made known, they would not see;
Word of Peace, bound for a tree.

Word with Father, Word the Son;
Holy Spirit, Three in One.
Word today and ancient story;
We beseech, reveal your glory.

Word of Grace, Word of Truth;
Word of elders, Word of youth.
Grant us grace to hallow you;
Give us strength to follow you.

Word of creation, Word of perfection;
Word of death, of resurrection.
Grant today that we might be,
The means by which the world will see.

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 12-26-10

I'm wearing disappointment, sweatpants, and no makeup. God's still right here. No matter how you feel or what you're wearing while you read this, God's with you too. He's year round, but Merry Christmas.

Betsy Warren

Devotional 12-25-10

Speaking When Spoken To

Any parent can identify with those who think “children should speak when spoken to”. Many of us don’t entirely support the idea, but sometimes it would be nice if our kids would stop and listen to us! Even the most energetic child, though, is able to see when an adult needs to tell him or her something important.

In Luke 2, verse nine tells, “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified” (NRSV). Like a child who knows when an adult is saying something momentous, the speechless shepherds understood the significance of what they were hearing. They intently listened to the angel’s news, and then they quickly departed for Bethlehem.

After seeing Jesus, the shepherds shared their experience with Mary and Joseph. They knew it was time to speak. Despite the cold and physical discomfort, Mary sensed that it was time to listen. Verse nineteen says, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” The shepherds were ‘speaking when spoken to’ by the angel of the Lord.

On this joyous Christmas Day, I pray that we all are aware of the awesome miracle before us, and that we take the time to listen to what God has to tell us. I also have faith that we will share His message with those who are ready to listen. Merry Christmas!

Natalie Wray

Devotional 12-24-10

Rules vs. Guidelines

 
Has Hollywood ever given us a sequel or a threequel (my word) that could rival the original? Ok, I’ll give you The Mummy – pretty darn good all the way around. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of my all-time favorites. The original that is. Destroyed in theme, romance and character in Parts II and III. But that’s a different story for a different day. The original finds our heroine, Elizabeth, standing toe to toe with the chief pirate bad guy quoting him, chapter and verse, the rules from his own Pirate Code. Once she stops, his response is simple; “Those are more like guidelines.” If only life were that way – just guidelines.


Adam and Eve had a few rules -- well one BIG rule and when it was interpreted as a guideline…what happened?

Moses brought some rules down off the mountain. I know I have seen on numerous occasions, and you probably have too, the bumper sticker or poster that states simply; “They are Not the Ten Suggestions” (most likely an outline or faint image of two stone tablets is visible)

Since May of this year I have been on fifteen flights, handled by two airlines through ten airports. Along the way, I saw a nice wide cross section of people. Once on board, I sit dutifully and listen to the flight attendants going through all of the safety features and reminding us that “the nearest usable exit may be behind us.” They are gracious to conduct this mandatory speech over the din of noisy travelers. They make sure you hear and know (several times throughout the flight) what electronic devices can and cannot be used and when they can and cannot be used. Focus here with me on the cannot. On EVERY flight, I kid you not, every flight, someone – sometimes my seatmate – fails to follow what I would, most definitely , consider to be a rule, and leaves their iPod running, their electronic book engaged or plays a game on their mobile phone. Do they feel that the airline is just over-anxious and that the stated actions are just guidelines? I hope each time that the guideline interpretation doesn’t interfere with, say – THE ALTIMETER.

A man came out of the crowd that had been listening to Jesus. His question itself speaks to the strength of what he most likely knew to be the answer, “What MUST I do to inherit…?” (Luke 10:25-28) And the verses that follow outline what Jesus let the man himself answer, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Even in Eugene Peterson’s more modern translation, The Message, the answer does not come back as “Well Dude, ya know if you have a chance and feel like it, might I suggest you love God a little, and maybe an occasional knuckle bump with a neighbor.”

In Mark 12:28-31 we hear the same answer come from Jesus when asked to identify the greatest commandment. Commandment, according to Miriam Webster, lists in its synonym roster, directive, imperative, injunction, order, decree and dictate. No reference to guideline.

God must have known that left to our own devices, like water, we would take the path of least resistance. That given loosie-goosie language we would interpret to our own advantage.

Jesus left great rules for us. How to love, how to live, how to serve. They have been spoken forth, written down and acted out.

They say that babies don't come with an instruction book. Maybe, 2000 years ago, this one didn't either but wow what a How To... book He left.

Steve Matthews

Devotional 12-23-10

Questions! Questions! Questions!

After rereading the birth story of Jesus in Luke 2:1-14, I am filled with questions.

It all begins with Mary. She asks the profound question “how can this be?” when the angel Gabriel first announces to her that she will soon bear a child. How can I bear a child when I am a virgin? How can I be the means by which the Son of God comes into the world? How can it be that God is coming into this world in human form anyway?

Eventually Mary accepted her role. She asked her questions, and accepted what God asked of her. Are we asking questions openly and honestly, and accepting what God asks of us?

Joseph and Mary question their ability to be parents. How can this be, that God trusts us to be the human, fallible parents of the Son of God? How can God allow this baby to be human and subject to human errors and disease? How is it that this baby is the “Lord and King”?

Eventually Mary and Joseph accepted their role as parents. They asked their questions and accepted what God asked of them. Are we asking questions openly and honestly and seeking what God would have us to do?

The people in our churches have always questioned and struggled to agree on the concepts of our faith. From the beginning, the disciples had so many questions. How can this be that this man Jesus is the “messiah” – the one to save us all? How is it that God has come to us in human form?

The disciples eventually accepted what Jesus had shown them through his resurrection. They asked their questions and accepted what God asked of them. Are we asking questions openly and honestly, and accepting what God asks of us?

When we ask our questions and face our doubts, we discover the real truth. This story of Jesus’ birth reminds us that this is not about what we know and understand in our heads, but rather what we know and understand in our hearts. God is reaching out to each of us. We must respond in faith and love!!!

Questions? Doubt? Respond to God with all of your heart!

Rev. Suzanne Ellis

Devotional 12-22-10

Isaiah 9:2-7 • Psalm 96 • Titus 2:11-14 • Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

What is the message for you?

This devotional is not going to be one in which the readings are interpreted or one which I give a personal story. This devotional is an opportunity for “you” to take a short period of time and slow down during this Advent season. To take time to read the passages and really listen to what GOD’s message is in each one. Now I’ll digress just a little and say that each passage is a very familiar story but look a little deeper. I’ll also say that each one of you may see a different message as GOD speaks to you. (And feel free to concentrate on one of the passages that really speak to you.)

Now I am going to give you a few short instructions. First, read the passage and then read it a second time slowly (You might even read out loud). Now during the second reading is there a phrase or word that gets your attention? Repeat this Phrase or word for a few minutes and reflect on it. Second, read the passage again even more slowly and see how the passage speaks to you and your life right now. Did your phrase or word change? Third, read the passage again and listen for GOD’s invitation for your life in the next few days. Reflect on this invitation.
Pray, Heavenly Father, Thank you for your message in your Holy Book, thank you for your message for my life and empower me to answer the invitation that you have sent to me. By the Power of the Holy Spirit and through your son Jesus Christ, Amen.
GOD is with Us!!!!

Fred Herr

P.S. What you have just been lead through is an abbreviated form of Holy Reading, or Lectio Divina. This is normally done in a group setting with a leader reading the passage aloud through several steps with the group or groups discussing how GOD is speaking to them.

Devotional 12-21-10

There are four lectionary readings for this week, which concern the birth, praise, and Christian responsibility toward our Savior. All if the readings are similar but each has a different approach. The readings come from: Isaiah, Psalm, Titus, and Luke.

In Isaiah we learn that people will see the Great Light -- Jesus born! He will be called by Royal titles: “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” the “Mighty God,” the “Everlasting Father”, the “Prince of Peace.” All Christians who pray have titles that are used to address that child. Some are the ones mentioned here. The one address that stands out in my mind is “Sweet Jesus.” Every time that I heard my dear mother pray, she would begin the prayer with “Sweet Jesus.” It seemed to symbolize their relationship with each other. It reminded me of the relationship between a mother and a “sweet baby.” The sweet baby had become the Heavenly Father but she also saw Him, as He first appeared to us- the baby Jesus.

Psalm 96 is a song of praise to our Heavenly Father. We are reminded that our God was made in the heavens not like the idols that were created by man. We should all praise him and let the people know that He reigns over the world but will judge all people fairly and with the truth. Praise Him for all growing things. We should give Him all the glory that He deserves. Many of us fail to give Him the credit. We take so much for granted and fail to think about His role in the world. Praise Him because He is always there to give us the strength to face the world.

Titus Two tells us that we have the responsibility of teaching others that the gift of eternal salvation is a free gift that is offered to everyone. We should look forward to the time for which we have been waiting to see. Teaching and encouraging others to do God’s will is our responsibility. We should do this in such a way that they would know that what we say is important. I feel that the best way to do this by example. We should not encourage others to do what we are not willing to do. Many Christians at Johnson Memorial are teaching by example more so that I am able to do but I have always said that my journey has become a process. I hope to get better and not go backwards in my journey.

Chapter two of Luke covered the birth of Christ. Mary and Joseph must go to Bethlehem for tax purposes, but the city is so crowded that there is no place for them to stay. Our baby Jesus is born in a stable. Yet, it is still a royal birth! The angels tell the shepherds the Christ child is born. Wanting to see for themselves, the shepherds went to Bethlehem to see the Messiah. They knew that the angels had spoken the truth.

Eight days later, the baby was named at his circumcision ceremony. He was named “Jesus.” This name was given to Him by an angel before he was even conceived. Thus, my dear mother’s “ “Sweet Jesus” became the savior of us all!

Carol Lee Brown

Devotional 12-20-10

Psalm 96

Many years ago I went to a conference at Arrowhead Springs Hotel in San Bernardino California. Known for its Natural Hot Springs, Native Americans, Early Settlers and Stars of Hollywood’s” Golden Age” were drawn to the healing waters. In 1962 Dr. William Bright, founder of Campus Crusade For Christ, purchased the property as their International Headquarters. After the headquarters moved to Florida the resort underwent development. New homes and condos and a new hotel is planned.

The focus of the conference was, Celebration of a new life in Christ.

The retreat proved to be a life shaping experience for me. Surrounded by Gods beautiful creation, we worshiped, prayed and played. We considered our unique nature in Christ, made possible through his righteousness. We shared our purpose, to glorify God. We learned more about our identity because we are all children of God by faith in Christ. We celebrated our blessings, power, peace faith, hope and love because we all belong to Jesus.

Verse one of Psalm 96 was always my favorite, "Sing to the Lord a new song". That means every day we receive new grace. Every day we can compose a new song of praise, worship, confession and repentance.

Every day we receive blessings from God.

New mercies, new grace every day. Because the Messiah, who is the son of David and the son of God has arrived. Nothing can ever separate us from Him.

Nothing , ever!

Amen

Judith Wilburn

Devotional 12-19-10

THE CHILD IS THE SIGN?

George was having one of those days. First, his car did not start and the mechanic said that it needed an alternator. Second, he didn’t have money for a new alternator and so he would have to take it out of his next paycheck, which he was planning on using to buy his wife something nice for their first Christmas together. Third, when George finally arrived at work, he was told that his position was being eliminated at the end of the year due to the economy. George couldn’t remember ever having a worse day.

So the last thing that George needed on his mile and a half walk home from work was a run in with the two college-aged boys wearing suits. “Jesus loves you,” they told him as a greeting. He tried to ignore them and kept walking, but they were persistent. “Christmas is just around the corner,” they told him. All he could think about was the fact that he just lost his job and would not be able to buy his wife anything for Christmas. Their first Christmas together would be the worst Christmas ever, he thought. One of the boys, the one with too much hair grease in his blonde hair and wrinkles in his suit pants, began to read to him from Isaiah: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14,” the boy said. “Go away!” George muttered. “God bless you,” they said in unison as they headed off toward a woman walking her two poodles.

What kind of sign is that, George thought to himself: a child? The sign is a child? Somehow it didn’t seem enough of a sign to prove that God loved him. How about letting him keep his job, how about some money for Christmas, how about a new car? George could think of a lot better signs than a child. He walked the rest of the way home in silence, staring at his feet as he walked in the snow.

His wife greeted him at the door. George couldn’t even look at her. How could he tell her that he wouldn’t have a job after December 31? Before he could speak, she took his hand and said to him, “I’m pregnant.” There was joy in her voice. “Pregnant?” he asked. “Yes,” she exclaimed. “I took two tests to be sure, both were positive.”

George began to cry. Two hours later, after he had explained what had happened with the car and with his job, she embraced him and said, “it will be alright.” “How will it be alright?” he asked. “It may not be easy,” she said as she put her hand over her heart. “But I love you and we are going to have a child for us to love and to love us.”

George didn’t think that having a child was proof that everything was going to be ok. Then he remembered the blonde boy with the greasy hair and the wrinkled pants. “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son,” the boy had said. “The child is a sign,” George said. “What,” his wife asked? “Nothing… nothing,” he muttered. The child is a sign of love, he thought to himself. He looked at his wife. She was beautiful and he knew that he loved her and wanted to have a family. I could really use the job, some money for Christmas, and a new car, he thought. But those items aren’t evidence of love. The child is a sign, he thought over and over.

George never contemplated the possibility that the prophet Isaiah had given his community hope by pointing to a child who was be called Immanuel, meaning “God with us,” and that the hope helped inspire Isaiah’s community to make it through some pretty hard times. George never pondered about how the Christian community, in trying to show the world the love of God, saw in Isaiah’s words of hope a glimpse of the one through whom they experienced grace, the one named Jesus. George never thought about the likelihood that God is constantly putting someone in our path, sometimes even a child, to show us the transforming power of love. But one day, the following September, George held a child in his arms, and with the biggest smile that could fit on his face, said to his wife, “The child is the sign.”

PRAYER

Loving God, out of love you created us. Your love is unconditional.

Jesus told us that we should love you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus even told us to love our enemies.

But we get so caught up with everything else, like school or work or daily tasks, that we lose sight of love. Often times, we take our frustrations out on those most dear to us: our children, our parents, our spouse, and our brothers and sisters. Instead of loving our enemies, we demonize them. We don’t really get to know people, but yet we criticize them, including our neighbors, our boss, our employees, our co-workers, our political leaders, and all who think and believe differently than we do.

Forgive us we pray. In this Christmas season, give to us a sign of the power of your love. Inspire us to vision a world where love is more powerful than hate, more powerful than political divisions, and more powerful than religious dogma.
We pray for children: for infants dependent upon moms and dads to care for them, for kids and youth struggling to feel loved in a culture where strings are always attached, for children in poverty, for children who struggle with health issues, for children who have been abused, and for children of all ages for whom Christmas is a lonely season.
Help us to act in love toward all who we come into contact with, until the world we envision and the world we live in are one in the same. In the name of Jesus, whom we call the Christ, whose love is stronger than death, whose birth is truly a sign of the love of God. Amen.
Rev. David Stackpole

Devotional 12-18-10

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.   Luke 2: 4-6

The movie The Nativity Story came out in 2006. I am generally skeptical when Hollywood does religious topics and actually didn't see the movie till the following year when it was on TV. To my surprise, I mostly thought it was well done.

One particular scene isn't Biblical but made quite an impression on me. Joseph and Mary have packed their things and are heading out of Nazareth. The locals on the street are pointing and whispering. You and I can certainly imagine what they were saying: "That's Joseph, he could have married any girl in the village but he chose Mary, who's pregnant and not with his baby!" "Look at them, acting like the happily married couple when we all know what's going on." "Can you believe she claims she was never with another man? Please!" At this point Mary and Joseph share a glance, and he smiles and reassures her saying, "We're going to be missed." She responds with a simple smile and a nod, and they go on their way.

I love that scene because Joseph and Mary come off as real people, living in the real world and dealing with real problems. They do not look like the Christmas card Holy Family, where Mary looks like she just stepped out of a beauty salon and Joseph is calm and serene. In the movie, Mary was played by 16-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes. She had tattered clothes and tangled hair and dirty fingernails. She looked real.

I fear that we have heard the Nativity story so many times that in our minds Mary and Joseph are like fairy tale characters. We forget that these were real people who never would have believed we would still be talking about them all these years later. The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem is 70 miles. I'm sure no mother reading this would have wanted to ride a donkey for 70 miles while pregnant! Joseph was walking and this was before fancy walking shoes. Although real, Mary and Joseph were chosen by God, and they trusted in Him as they took this journey.

This year, as you're looking though your Christmas cards and notice that Mary's clothes are clean and pressed and Joseph's beard is neatly trimmed, remember that these were real people, who had just made a 70-mile journey on foot and donkey and frantically raced to find a place for the baby to be born.
Throughout history, God has worked through real people. Today, God continues to work through real people. You are a real person--think about it.
Anita Gardner Farrell

Devotional 12-17-10

I must be dreaming!

Matthew 1:18-25

1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 1:24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,

When I look at the world in which we live I wonder what has happen to the dream. What dream is the focus of my attention? It is the dream of Joseph. The dream that told Joseph that God would be with us. The dream that became the reality of Jesus. The dream that offered us Christ.

We live in a world of dissention, denial, competition and hate. We worship a God of community, truth, intimacy, and love.
We live in a world where one group is right and the other group is wrong. We worship a God who does not see male/female, Muslim/Christian, black/white, gay/straight.
We live in a world where we want to exclude and create “the other.” We worship a God who sees us as God’s creation, and we are one.
We live in a world where money is king, and we are betrayed by its princes of power. We worship a God who tells us we cannot have two masters.

We live in a world where someone who deals drugs is thrown into the dungeons of hell but the one who embezzles millions is sent to camp. We worship a God who was beat and dragged through the streets of Jerusalem for the thief beside him.

We live in a world that believes the biggest bomb makes right. We worship the prince of peace.

We live in a world where greed is honored. We worship a God who had no possessions.
I was taught by Mrs. Erwin in the third grade that God loves everybody regardless of whom they are and where they are from. She told that as a Christian I am to be like God and do the same even when I do not want to and even when it cost me something. That is the way I live my life even today.
What did you say?

Yeah, I must be dreaming.

Rev. David Johnson
Charlotte, NC

Devotional 12-16-10

Ronald Reagan once said - "if we ever forget that we are one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under."

Each year on the 3rd Friday of September - POW/MIA Recognition Day - the nation honors and remembers both prisoners of war and those missing in action who have yet to come home. Incorporated in Washington, D.C. on 28 May 1970.

As of Feb. 2010 the Dept. of Defense reported 4,450 - W.W. I; 78,384 - W.W. II; 8,050 - Korean War; 1,720 - Southeast Asia; 123 - Cold War.

The POW/MIA Flag is flown around the country - congressionally mandated POW/MIA Recognition Day - 3rd Friday in September; Armed Forces Day - 3rd Saturday in May; Memorial Day - last Monday in May; Flag Day - 2nd Monday in June; Independence Day - 4 July; and Veterans Day - 11 November. Also flown at every national cemetery, every military installation, and every Post Office, among many other sites nationwide.

The POW/MIA Flag honors the courage of our servicemen and women. It reaffirms our country's commitment to bring these men and women home. "Everyone wants to honor and remember people who served their country. The hard part is working to bring them home. That's the real mission."

Prayer - LORD - Hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families, for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.

Paul S. Riggs
If you need/want pic. POW/MIA Flag...I have one.

Devotional 12-15-10

Identity Crisis

Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

“Through him we received both the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others who receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus. You are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ!” Romans 1: 5-6

Who are you? Yes, You, the reader…who are you? I know some of you, but not nearly everyone who reads our devotions. How do people know you? Are you known for your famous hot chili? Or maybe, you are known for that wonderful smile? Would others remember that you are a good listener or perhaps you are best known for your work-ethic? You play many roles, so you might be known as a good daughter, son, brother, sister, wife, husband, mother, father, etc. But really, who are you on the inside of your heart and soul where only God can see?

In the scriptures outlined for this week, Paul relates to the church in Rome that Jesus descended from auspicious ancestors. Matthew names them all, but Paul only calls out the name of David. Jesus is rooted in history, he had a family tree and was a son and brother, friend and teacher. He would have been an imposing figure in history had those been his only roles. But he was and will always be the Messiah. He is the Son of God. He gave his life for our sins and then was raised from the dead to become our everlasting Savior. This sounds like the ultimate gift. It was and still is! Hallelujah!! But it was a gift wrapped in the soft gentleness of a baby. How can we resist the urge to reach for the baby with arms outstretched, ready to protect and encompass the child with love?

Paul declares that we are who we are because of the gift of this special baby. We have been called to accept the gift. We are not just given a gift, like a present of something material, but called to become part of the gift. We are called to be a part of the fellowship of Christians who share the gift of a relationship with Jesus Christ with others. Are you ready to accept this gift? Are you up to the challenge of passing the gift on to others? Will you be known now as a Christian? Will others know you as one who lives for Christ and lets the light of Christ shine through their actions and words? In this time of Advent, can you present yourself for a closer examination? Can you open your heart for an early “spring” cleaning so that the Babe of Christmas can arrive with a guaranteed place to lay His head?

I want to walk as a child of the light.
I want to follow Jesus.
God set the stars to give light to the world.
The star of my life is Jesus.
In him there is no darkness at all.
The night and the day are both alike.
The Lamb is the light of the city of God.
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.

~~Kathleen Thomerson

Dear Jesus, Baby of Light, shine down on us so that we might clearly see your face and feel your presence in our lives. Fill our hearts with a light that dispels the darkness of the world. Continue to CALL us to receive the gift of your life and then to live out the calling by sharing your love with others. May we always know that we are yours and that our identity is forever linked to the baby in the manger. May we use these days to truly prepare for your coming and walk with you as children of the light. Amen.

Chyrl Budd

Devotional 12-14-10

Watching the miners being brought out of their cave recently was an emotional experience for me. It went on for hours and continued to be emotional with each person who came from below. What would we be thinking if we had been buried alive for 17 days knowing only that in all probability it would be our grave? Then the wonderful realization that there is hope for seeing our family again, and having time to do the things that are important in our lives. What would you consider to be important? How would you want to live the rest of your life? I keep hearing his voice telling me to LIVE SIMPLY.

So what does that really mean? Defining what I would consider living simply may be very different from what you would consider on your list. For me I think of some small things like avoiding clutter around me, being as healthy as I can by eating healthy food and exercising, keeping Gods world in a way to please him. I would want to keep my activities manageable, and I would also include helping others.

Think about what you would do. Maybe these words written many years ago can help.

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy lord
Abide in him always, and feed on his word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing his blessings to seek.

As I have thought about this I have come up with three things that I feel can guide me. Take time to remember who I am, take time to be a friend in a way they (friends) will know that I care about who they are, take time to praise God for who he is.

Marilyn Holleron

Devotional 12-13-10

Your Faith is What You Make of It
Psalm 80 is believed to have been written after the people of the northern kingdom of Israel were defeated and deported to Assyria. Though the text certainly refers to the experience of trial, the perspective seems to be very positive. In the aftermath of war, one might think that it takes deep-rooted faith to keep a pleasant outlook.

When I was teaching middle school students, I really noticed the effects of the affirmation, “Your day is what you make of it.” Stepping in a puddle on a rainy morning can lead to a day that just continues to worsen, or we can take a deep breath and leave the negativity behind us with that puddle. I tried to help adolescents see that trying to be positive would go a long way toward actually feeling that way.

Of faith and action, which comes first? Was Asaph (or his descendant) writing Psalm 80 out of doubtless faith? Verse three says, “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” Verses seven and nineteen, echoes of the same request, give me the impression that the psalmist was speaking out of struggling faith. I do think, though, that he had the right idea. To maintain brightness despite encountering difficult would likely strengthen one’s faith.

Even when we find it difficult to feel spiritually confident, we should act and speak with faith. There are perfect examples of this throughout the story of Christmas. The shepherds, the magi, Mary, and Joseph all acted with faith, which led to an affirmation of that faith. The same can happen to all of us, because your faith truly is what you make of it.

Natalie Wray

Devotional 12-12-10

From Matthew 11:2-11

"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"

It is the question that reveals of crisis of faith for John the Baptist. Israel seemed to John to still be in such terrible religious and political turmoil. Jesus was the Messiah. He was the one John expected to reform the temple and cast out the Romans. Jesus was supposed to be change John could believe in! But so terrible was John’s anguish over the ongoing condition of God’s chosen people, his Holy Land, that he had to ask the question…”Am I waiting for someone else?” Or perhaps his question to Jesus really was “What are you waiting for?”

It is a question I have pondered more than once. In light of so much depravity and suffering in the world, so much hypocrisy and hatred, I proclaim that Chris has died, Christ is risen, and that Christ will come again (sing it with me!). Yet I too wonder at times “Lord, what are you waiting for?”

When faced with John’s question, Jesus pointed to his teaching, his healings, his tenderness to the outcasts, and the resurrections he performed. He was saying to John, “Cousin, it has already begun!” The big picture does look bad sometimes, but Jesus was saying to John, “I’m sketching in some new details.” The tapestry of life that we hope will come out beautiful in the end does sometimes appear too dark and ugly, but Jesus is saying “I’m weaving in some new and beautiful threads and in the end it shall all be well.”

It is easy, especially for the sensitive heart, to be overwhelmed by the many things that seem always to cast down and never to uplift and inspire. The extent of human need is especially felt at this time of year. But there is still beauty in the world, the newborn and the growing child, the tender hug or handshake, the person who takes a stand for someone weaker, the church of God in those brief moments when we live up to the vision God has for us, the glad surprise and the unexpected acts of grace and generosity, and of course always there are the obvious moments of God’s faithful providence. There is beauty and wonder still, the child inside and Spirit of God within both testify to it. Be still and look for it, feel for it, listen for it. Where you discover it, celebrate it. It is not enough for you to work at becoming and making the beauty. You must also see the beauty and wonder of the world where it already is, lest you feel that you labor alone or in vain

Beauty and wonder are all around, yea the Kingdom is come! It has already begun! And in the spirit of this advent season, we watch…and we wait…come quickly Lord Jesus.

Joe Hill

Devotional 12-11-10

WHAT GOOD IS GOD?
Philip Yancey is a New York Times bestselling author who, in his latest book, "What Good is God: In Search of a Faith That Matters,” tells of his travels to ten different countries from Mumbai, India to Memphis, Tennessee to find the answer (or answers) to that question. I was privileged to do an on-air interview with him recently and learn of the firsthand evidence he found that faith does indeed make a difference.

Your reaction may be, "You are not telling me anything I didn't already know. Of course faith makes a difference." From the center of my comfortable life it's easy for me to say that, too. Not so easy for one of the rescued Chilean miners to say but his words were, "I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God." Not so easy to say when thirty-two people are killed on a college campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, when we hear of those suffering from AIDS in South Africa, and women and children tortured in Ruanda, when the force of nature in the form of a tsunami ends thousands of lives.

Yancey concludes that the question, "What Good Is God" is lived out in the lives of believers, people like you and me and Christians throughout the world experiencing dire events but still keeping the faith. As a prison volunteer seeing her work bear fruit in the changed lives of many incarcerated there explained, "God was always there," she said, "I just had to make Him visible.” What a challenge to all of us, to make God visible to those around us.

Psalms 146:5-9

Jean Dean

Devotional 12-10-10

Isaiah 35 1-10

Theoretically, if this gets published since I am late in submission, we as a community are about 15 days away from Christmas. This particular scripture reading is not one that you would think has a place during Advent. I had to read through more than a couple of times to find an appropriate line of thought.

I mean we are talking about being in a desert with all of those negative implications, and the prophet starts thinking about plotting God’s revenge on those that had made the Jewish nation so troubled. Those are not the normal pictures or sentiments that we subscribe to this time of year.

Upon reading through it for the seventh or eighth time, you do hear a message of hope and a celebration of what it is like to have God with us?

Things have gotten more stressful and complex for all of us over the last several years. Changes in health, family structure, our jobs, and being apart of the world in 2010 make things seem as desolate as conditions may be in the most barren of deserts.

With the hope, security, and strength that we have in our God attached to love and peace that come from our own relationships with Emmanuel, even the deserts in our own lives are survivable.

Mike Bowen

Devotional 12-9-10

The Advent Virus
WARNING……WARNING: ADVENT VIRUS
Be on the alert for symptoms of inner Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to this virus and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of The Advent Virus:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
• A loss of interest in judging other people.
• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
• A loss of interest in conflict.
• A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
• Frequent attacks of smiling.
• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
• An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Please send this warning out to all your friends. This virus can and has affected many systems. Some systems have been completely cleaned out because of it.

Jim Perry
Anonymous via email

Devotional 12-8-10

Please read Luke 1:46-55

Growing up Methodist, and Methodist Protestant at that, I did not know much about Mary, the mother of Jesus. . Oh, I knew it was a Catholic thing, but those were the next door neighbors, my cousins, and the kids that went to the other school down the street from mine. I never really gave her much thought until my husband and I had the opportunity to study in Switzerland at the World Council of Churches’ program on international ecumenism. That’s been almost 30 years ago, but I still remember the awesome privilege and challenge of living for five months with 60 different people from 40 different countries and every denomination from Pentecostal to Romanian Orthodox, with lots in between. Over time, I became friends with some Eastern Orthodox priests who did not quite grasp the fact that I was an ordained minister in my denomination, just as they were in theirs.

Friendly but intense theological debates were an everyday occurrence. Really they were one of the most important reasons why we were all there: to learn from one another. One evening, one of the Orthodox priests said, “You might not be so much into this women and ordination thing if your church worshipped Mary, if it had any kind of a female role model, someone you read about, prayed to, someone who affected your spirituality in profound ways.” Well. I certainly wasn’t thinking of God as male in those days, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t raised with that image in Bible stories, Sunday School curriculum and stained glass. What would a visible female presence in church be like? I decided to do some reading, and then some reflecting.

Mary is one of the stars of the show at Advent and Christmas. She is called “blessed” many times in Luke’s gospel. But just how blessed was she? I like to imagine what the lives of some biblical women were really like, more than what they said or did in Scripture. Mary had the unenviable task of telling her parents she was pregnant before she was married. What was that conversation like for her? For her mother? The siblings which she must have had? She had to tell her fiancé the same thing and that she was bearing a baby that was not his. We know a little of Joseph’s reaction, but what was it like for her when she told him? What was it like to walk miles and miles to Bethlehem from Nazareth when she was nine months pregnant? What was it like to have a baby in a place that was probably dirty and smelly and uncomfortable? Who, besides Joseph, was there to help her and soothe her? Who cut the cord? As her boy Jesus grew and changed, as he began to realize his calling and uniqueness, what went through her mind when she took care of him and disciplined him? We have no record. When she and Joseph had to return to Jerusalem to get him because he had stayed behind with the scholars, how did she begin to really let go of him? Years later, when he began his public ministry, how did she react when she heard him teach and saw the people he healed? Was she proud of him or was she frightened of his power? How did she handle the criticism of him that I am sure she knew of? When it became clear that his very life was at stake if he continued his ministry, were there times she wondered if he should have chosen a different path? Finally, when she knew he was to be crucified, and actually saw him on the cross, did she regret her decision to say yes to God’s angel all those years ago? We don’t know, but for me, when I think about her life, I think there must have been times when she thought, “If these are blessings, then I don’t know what blessings really are.” I don’t think that she had an easy life. Yet, the book of Acts tells us that she was active in the early church, so she must have experienced the risen Christ in ways we cannot begin to fathom. That was surely a blessing that I do not understand.

Every year when I preach on this text, I think about these events in her life. What I’ve come to understand is that life isn’t easy for anybody. But God is always there. What a strong and faith filled prayer life this woman must have had. She accepted what happened to her and at times, even praised God, as this passage clearly shows. She kept going no matter what happened to her. As far as we know, she was a poor, uneducated woman who society then and now would overlook. Yet God had something special for her to do as surely as God has something for each of us to do, even if it’s not the magnitude of Mary’s. Over the years, what I’ve learned about Mary through many books, articles, studies and reflections, is that she stayed on the road that God had placed her. I’ve also come to understand that God often doesn’t use so-called important people to do His will. It’s Halloween when I write this, and I have no idea what Advent and Christmas hold for us in our new churches and in our newly emptied nest. I don’t know what they hold for anyone. If we take our faith seriously, I know we will all be called to do something this holiday season. Some will be called to experience the holidays without a particular loved one for the first time. Some will be called to help people they would rather not help, if they were honest. I don’t know what, but there will be something that is challenging, as well as something that is joyful. My prayer is that whatever it is we are called to do, we will stay as faithful to the task as Mary did, that no matter what happens, we can truthfully say. “My soul magnifies the Lord for he has done great things.”.

Rev. Dorcas L. Conrad
Highland Avenue UMC
Fairmont, W. Va.

Devotional 12-7-10

How Will We Know Him?
The Lectionary readings for the week of December 6th include Luke 1:46(b)-55 and Matthew 11:2-11. The former appears in Luke’s birth narratives and tells the story of John the Baptist leaping for joy inside Elizabeth’s womb when she meets Mary while Mary is carrying Jesus. The latter is the account of an imprisoned John the Baptist sending a message to Jesus at the start of His ministry inquiring, “Are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for another?” These two passages when laid side by side contain a little wrinkle for modern Christians. How is it that John recognizes Jesus so definitively in utero but falters in his recognition of Him, for sure, some thirty years later?

When sacred scripture is read metaphorically, there is no Christocentric contradiction here. The nature of Jesus’ identity has not changed nor has His role in salvation history been altered in these two passages. Rather the problem which creates the wrinkle is in John’s inconsistent perception or recognition of Jesus. As a baby, he knew Him instantly as Messiah . . . but, later as Savior, he was not so sure. In the above-identified Matthew text, John is in reality saying, “the miracles which this Jesus performs are persuasive evidence that He is Lord, but I really need for Him to come right out and say ‘I am ‘The One’.”

For us Christians, Advent is the season of unabashed joy. The Advent road is always adorned with the same familiar hallmarks: we neither get lost nor tired in traveling upon it. There is the star, the manger, the shepherds, and the wise men and the story culminates with the arrival of the baby . . . our Messiah. Despite the passage of each succeeding year without exception, we know and recognize Jesus as Messiah instantly on Christmas Day

What about the other eleven months of the year when the roads on which we travel are less certain? How will we know Him when we sit in the board rooms of corporate America and weigh profit margins against community obligations . . . or when we sit on juries to decide the guilt or innocence of defendants in courts of law . . . or when we reap a harvest which yields a thin crop . . . or when we look squarely into the eyes of the homeless on a cold winter night? The answer is that at all those times, in one form or another, we will ask John’s question: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Christmas is easy. Faith is hard. Thank God for Christmas; its majesty sustains us all the year long.

And, as always, there is no small amount of irony included in the conclusion of this text from Matthew’s gospel. After Jesus answers John’s question by deliberately refusing to declare that, “yes, I am ‘The One,’” Jesus says this: “and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” Biblical commentators tell us that the Greek word “offense” in this passage literally translates into “stumbling block” or “Happy is he to whom I shall not prove a stumbling block in their understanding of Almighty God.” Happy is he who, despite the poverty and obscurity of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, sees evidence of Messiah in Him and believes in Him as Savior. We have a basis for such faith. We have already welcomed Him as Messiah on Christmas Day when He was born in the humility of a manger.

Tom Craig

Devotional 12-6-10

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121: 1 - 2

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver

The evening of the Marshall vs. WVU football game, I took a walk with my grandchildren and dog. Since most everyone else in Huntington was at the stadium, it seemed that we were the only people left on earth, and we were enjoying our status as owners of everything we beheld (my grandchildren can be a little over-dramatic, wonder where they get that?). As we turned onto the next street, we came face to face with an amazing sunset. As we walked along, the horizon became visible between houses, and it became more and more vibrant. When 3-year old Thurston declared, "Look, green stripes," I thought to myself, I thought he knew his colors, but as I lifted my eyes there were, indeed, green stripes mixed with the pinks and yellows and oranges of the sunset. (I thought this might be a good omen for The Herd, but noooooooooooo). By the time we got to the end of the street, the sun was almost out of sight and 5-year-old Loretta announced that "this must be the best sunset in the whole world." Well, it was certainly the best sunset for me at that moment. Thank you God for allowing me to see this, not only through my eyes, but through the eyes of these precious children.

I once heard a lady in our church refer to Psalm 121 as the West Virginia Psalm because of the reference to the hills. I never hear that first verse that I don't think of our beautiful West Virginia hills. We are lucky to live in a place where beauty is the norm and not the exception. But the Psalmist is quick to remind us that our help does not come from the hills themselves but from the creator of the hills. All this beauty isn't just for our enjoyment, it also serves to remind us of the creator. Looking at that sunset without thinking of and thanking God, would have been impossible.

This is a hectic time of year. I urge you to run outside every now and then and lift your eyes to the hills.

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

Anita Gardner Farrell

Devotional 12-5-10

People Who Prepared The Way For Us

Matthew 3:1-11 & Roman 15:4-13,

I joined John Wesley UMC in Lewisburg, W.V. when my brother David was the pastor in 1983. I received my call into the ministry during the Advent Season and Norman Snagg, a teammate of mine from W.V. Tech who was from West Palm Beach, Florida would drive from Montgomery, W.V. to Lewisburg on weekends. David and the members of John Wesley helped me hear God’s voice as I played basketball, and they prepared the way for me to be the person I am today. I have received so much encouragement since my dear David passed away on October 24, 2010. It is during the Advent Season, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ that the Matthew and Romans passages of scripture encourage me. As someone reads this devotional for today on December 5, 2010, you may be grieving the loss of a loved one. This Christmas will not be the same without David or your loved one. I’m crying still, but I am getting stronger. John prepared the way, and Jesus gave his life. Romans 15:4 says, “for everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Because of John preparing the way for Jesus, and David and the members of John Wesley preparing the way for me to receive, respond and live out my call, I have infinite hope. Praise God. Amen. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, during Advent and always, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rev. Jeremiah Jasper

Devotional 12-4-10

Hope and Joy
The world seems to have run amuck--floods, oil spills, mine accidents, a minister planning to burn the Koran (this one really got to me), people losing jobs, homes, hope. As I write this, the election season with its constant onslaught of innuendo that plays on people’s fears is drawing to a close (thank goodness!). When people lose hope--fear and anger seem to fill in the gap, leaving us very vulnerable. All of this greed, anger, pain, and sadness makes my heart hurt, and if my heart aches, how must God feel?

God in his infinite mercy sent us hope. He sent hope in the form of a baby. What baby doesn’t bring a feeling of hope and joy to our hearts? But, this one brought hope and joy, not just to his own family, but to the world. This baby was God’s own Son. He brought love, forgiveness, and hope to a world that needed it and still needs it very badly.

This holy season fills our hearts with hope and joy. Hope that the world will be a better place. Hope that we can make our little corner of it a better place by loving, forgiving, and accepting others as God loves, forgives and accepts us; by sharing the hope and joy that God’s love and forgiveness brings to each of us. Loving, forgiving, accepting, sharing... caring--isn’t that what Christmas is really all about?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

Margaret Williams

Devotional 12-3-10

This was taken from the book THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS by Rick Warren

The Purpose of Christmas

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Please read Luke 2: 8-14

Regardless of your background, religion, problems or circumstances, Christmas really is the best news you could get. Beneath all the visible sights and sounds of Christmas are some simple yet profound truths that can transform your life for better here on earth and forever in eternity. It is important for you to understand the implications of Christmas for your life.

God’s Christmas gift to you has three qualities that make it unique. First, it is the most expensive gift you’ll ever receive. It’s priceless. Jesus paid for it with his life! Second, it’s the only gift you’ll ever receive that will last forever. Finally, it is an extremely practical gift—one you’ll use every day for the rest of your life.

On that first Christmas night, the angel announced three purposes for the birth of Jesus:

Christmas is a time for Celebration!
Christmas is a time for Salvation!
Christmas is a time for Reconciliation!

The first purpose of Christmas is Celebration

The angel’s opening statement to the shepherds of Bethlehem. “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” Luke 2:10

The good news of Christmas is worth celebrating for three reasons:

It is personal: “I bring YOU.”
It is positive: “Good news of great joy.”
It is universal: “for ALL the people”. This news is for YOU!

God Loves You

“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” The entire reason for Christmas is the love of God. God became one of us, a human being, so we could understand what he is really like.

God is with you

God came to earth at Christmas to remind you that he is always with you, no matter where you are, whether you feel it or not. You must connect or “tune in” to his presence. Whatever difficulty you are going through now in your life, God knows about it, cares about it, understands it and is going through it with you. You are not alone!

God is for you

God is mad about you! “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.” John 3:17

When you make a mistake, Jesus doesn’t rub it in. He RUBS IT OUT! He came to erase all your sins, mistakes, failures and regrets. Jesus came to same us, not to scare us. It is a reason to Celebrate!

Salvation

The second purpose of Christmas is salvation. The announcement of salvation for anyone in world who would accept it was the angel’s second declaration of good news to the Shepherds. “Today……..there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 God is waiting to save you from Sin and yourself, save you for His purpose and save you by HIS Grace through Faith. But you’ve got to relax, quit trying to save yourself, let go and trust your savior to do it for you.

Reconciliation

The third purpose of Christmas is reconciliation. Christmas, the season of “Peace on earth, good will toward men “ is the perfect time to offer the gift of grace to others, while celebrating the grace God has shown you. Only when you feel fully forgiven yourself will you be able to forgive those who’ve hurt you most. Only as you are filled with the love of Jesus will you be able to let your hurt go and get on with your life.

In Jesus your past is forgiven, you get a purpose for living and you get a home in heaven. Jesus came to make a relationship with God possible.

Your Christmas Prayer

Dear God, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, so I could get to know you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being with me all my life even when I didn’t know it. I realize I need a savior to set me free from sin, from myself, and from all the habits, hurts, and hang-up that mess up my life. I ask you to forgive me for my sins. I want to repent and live the way you created me to live. Be the Lord of my life and save me from my sins, and save me for your purpose. I want to learn to love you, trust you and become what you made me to be. Thank you for creating me and choosing me to be part of your family. Right now, by faith, I accept the Christmas gift of your Son. Fill me with your peace and assurance so I can be a peacemaker, and help me share this message of peace with others. In your name I pray, Amen

Melanie Herr

Devotional 12-2-10

Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together, Lord.
Bind us together in love.

There is only one God.
There is only one king.
There is only one body.
That is why we sing.

The Faith We Sing hymnal, No. 2226

Recently, I read an excellent book by Nicholas Wade entitled The Faith Instinct. I was able to identify two major premises in Mr. Wade’s writing: First, that mankind instinctively strives to communicate with the supernatural — i.e., with a higher power; and secondly, that having a religion in common has survival value for the members of a community.

We know from the few groups that still exist that the primitive hunter-gatherers would go into frenzied dancing and singing to induce a state of trace or coma in which dreams or visions would occur — purporting to be from the great spirits, etc. Down through the ages various peoples have invented gods, created idols, worshiped animals (lions, bulls, cats, etc). Rulers have many times, in many places, dictated that such-and-such a religion would be the national religion and that all of their subjects must follow this religion and no other. Every society developed their own deities in order to solicit help, blessings and favors from “other worlds.” (Aren’t we fortunate that the one true God has revealed himself to us and that he sent his son to live among us and be our example for living?)

Mr. Wade’s second theme is that for all members of a clan or society to worship the same deity has survival values for that group. A common religion tends to bind its members closer together — making it easier to work together, hunt together, build together and, yes, even make war together.

So is it any wonder that Bob Gillman, the composer of our introductory hymn, would ask God “bind us together in love”?

Now let’s try changing our point of view — a different perspective. Imagine, if you will, that you are our creator. You have finally achieved the pinnacle of evolution and created humans in your own image. Wouldn’t it make sense to equip this species with a desire to communicate with you? After all, you did create them — they should want to thank you, if nothing else.

So, apparently, we are so equipped — let’s do it. And, let us remind ourselves that at least half of communication is listening.

A Prayer by Thomas à Kempis:

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening….

In days gone by the children of Israel said to Moses, “Speak to us, and we shall listen; do not let the Lord speak to us, lest we die.” This is not how I pray, Lord. No. With the great prophet Samuel, I humbly and earnestly beg: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” So, do not let Moses speak to me, but you, O Lord, my God, eternal truth, you speak to me. If I hear your voice, may I not be condemned for hearing the word and not following it, for knowing it and not loving it, or believing it and not living it. Speak then, Lord for your servant listens, for you have the words of eternal life. Speak to me, to comfort my soul and to change my whole life; in turn, may it give you praise and glory and honor, forever and ever.

Amen.

Charlie Lewis

Devotional 12-1-10

Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

WE DID IT!!! Two years ago, I wrote a devotional about the 'Corn Maze' in Milton, WV. My sister Judy, friend Sharon, Judy's grandson, my great-nephew, Alex and his friend Brandon, plodded our way through the Maze in the dark, with only a little led light I had on my key ring, to show us the way. Oh, yes, God did provide us with a three-quarter full moon.

We got lost, and thankfully Judy had her cell phone and Alex remembered the cell number to call for help, which we did and God provided. Mike Cooper, the owner of the maze, came to our rescue.

We planned on going back last year, 2009, but a rainy downfall came and drowned our plans. See, Alex was on his fall break from his school in Maryville, TN, and we could only go on a Thursday evening.

So, now it is 2010, and we wanted to redeem ourselves. So try again we did. The maze is only open Thursdays in the evening, 5:00-10:00 PM, and we knew it would get dark around 7:00 PM. With flashlights and cell phones in hand, we set out. Alex and Brandon, now 11 years old, got to go on their own as they wanted. (We mature women couldn't keep up with them anyway). Judy, Sharon, and I started out following the questions and hoping for the correct answer to know the correct direction to go when we got to a station. We were doing well except when we got to a fork in the path, and we had to decide if we were to go left or right. It was getting dark; I called on the cell phone to see what we do in that situation. All Kim Cooper would say is, 'there are pointers, signs, to point the way'. I kept asking, 'what pointers'. 'You will know', he would say. So, we began thinking about this and looking and sure enough, there are. I won't tell you the pointers, because you might go to a maze and need to find out for yourself. They are there, look.

John 20:30-31 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Kay Lewis

Devotional 11-30-10

Please read Isaiah 11:1-10

Our oldest son, Grant, is taking herpetology in high school. In case you have forgotten you list of –ologies, herpetology is the study of reptiles. As part of his work for the class, each six weeks he has the responsibility of caring for a different reptile. So far, all of these animals have been snakes.

If you are like me, right now you are saying, “EWWWH! Snakes!?” I don’t want to touch them. I don’t want to hold them. I don’t want to care for them. I wouldn’t mind if they didn’t exist in the world. I suppose it is a good thing that I am not the creator of the universe, or snakes would have to watch out — they would be on my “hit list.”

And yet, read this:

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:6-9

We read this passage, and we are enchanted by its peaceful imagery. I wonder if we even consider what it means. What is this “peace” that Isaiah sets forth as a vision of the future kingdom? What is this vision that Christ gives us of loving one another and living in peace, together?

Lions and calves living together, children playing around the nests of snakes, wolves and lambs sharing the same table. When you think about it, it is unimaginable. Unreachable. Certainly, it is not the road God insists that we travel. Is it?

I imagine that, for the people of Judah, who were torn away from their way of life, from their land and their God, the idea of living in peaceful harmony with their enemy seemed not only radical, but impossible. Jonah would rather have been swallowed by a big fish than preach of repentance to the people of Ninevah. Imagine what Ananias, an early disciple of Christ, thought when God told him to head down the road and take care of Saul — Saul, who had been persecuting the followers of Christ. God’s vision of a future peaceful kingdom not only seems impossible for us, but probably is impossible for us, alone.

And yet, born in a stable, over 2000 years ago, was hope. Not just wishes, not just desires, but the hope of the world. Hope. It is the certainty that God exists, that he keeps his promises, and that he can make the impossible, possible.

We are called to love our enemies. Impossible. I would rather touch a snake. But when hope enters my life and fills my heart, the impossible is made possible. Forgiveness becomes a possibility. Grace brings light and love into the picture.

What impossible task is God calling you to do? What unimaginable relationship is now reachable because Hope was born in a stable, died on a cross, and now lives forever?

Kim Matthews

Devotional 11-29-10

A Little Child ...
Read Isaiah 11:1-9.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

It was trick-or–treat night in Huntington, and my three-year-old grandson, Landon “Scooby Doo” Lewis, had been looking forward to traveling from house to house with his father Jesse, filling his Halloween bag with delicious candy. What a great holiday!

As six o’clock neared, my daughter Anna helped Landon slip into his costume, kissed him goodbye, and prepared to hand out Skittles and Blow Pops to the neighborhood children. She noticed that the air had suddenly turned much colder and hoped that Landon would not get too chilly inside his fleece dog suit.

A quick half-hour later, Anna spied her husband, Jesse, with Landon on his shoulders. Landon had decided he had enough candy for one night. As Jesse took over handing out the candy to trick-or-treaters, Anna took Landon inside to check out his treasure.

When the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of a new trick-or-treater, Landon reached into his bag of goodies, ran to the door, and deposited a Snickers bar into the outstretched sack. At first Anna thought that Landon was just confused. “You don’t have to give away your candy! I have candy here for the other kids.”

Landon looked at her and then his bag of candy. “Mommy, I have lots of candy. We need to share!” And for the next hour, that’s exactly what he did, until his bag was completely empty.

Heavenly Father, each day we see children who are responding to the needs of others. Help us to be not childish but childlike in our giving, this season and all year long. In Your name we pray. Amen

Becky Warren

Devotional 11-28-10

Swords into Plowshares
Please read Isaiah 2:1-5

Hard as it is to believe, today is the First Sunday of Advent. During the next several weeks, you and I will be asked many times, and we’ll probably ask the question of others a few times: Are you ready for Christmas? The conversation that ensues will be about decorations, shopping, cooking, traveling, and visions of sugar plums. We will talk nostalgically of past Christmases, simpler times, less secular “holidays,” you know, the same stuff we gripe about every year.

But what about Advent? Are you ready for Advent?

Advent is the period of four weeks before Christmas. It is a time of waiting, of anticipating, the coming into being of God in the form of the Christ-child. Advent is pretty much reserved for church—the world hasn’t claimed it yet.

This year, I invite you to celebrate Advent. Ponder in your hearts, as Mary pondered in her heart, what it means that God would choose to be revealed in the Christ-child. What did it mean then, and what does it mean for us now that God has lived among us?

Are you ready for Advent?

As the words from this week’s lectionary text were percolating through my mind and heart this week, I had the privilege of participating in a telephone conference with several United Methodist leaders from other parts of the country who are planning an international, interfaith summit on peace. The planning committee has done this three or four times now, each conference with a specific focus on bringing about peace. They had gathered to begin planning the next conference, which includes as part of the working title or theme, Economic Justice for All God’s Children. My invitation to join came because I was recently elected as an officer in a national organization for United Methodist foundations. I am expected to suggest ways that charitable foundations might use our substantial collective resources to affect economic justice.

I was energized by the conversation. It is exciting for me to be a part of what feels like a grassroots movement among religious leaders—Christians, Jews, and Muslims—to begin to collaborate on ways we can be agents for change in the world. Some will roll their eyes at the notion—it’s too big an issue to be resolved by religious leaders. I wasn’t prepared for the question that came up during the call, however. One of the other participants questioned whether the idea of “justice for all God’s children” and specifically “economic justice” is too controversial. Would the notion offend some of our congregants?

At that point, I was glad I was only on the telephone so that no one could see my jaw drop and my hands raised in exclamation. Why would anyone be offended by justice, even economic justice, for all? Shouldn’t we be offended by the reality of injustice? Whether economic justice is offensive to some or not, I do not think we can ever have peace without economic justice. Victims of economic injustice will always fight for justice. When will we stop fighting against it?

I guess I’m pretty comfortable right here where I am. Not rich by any stretch of the imagination among my peers and neighbors. But by world standards I am among the very richest in the world. (Don’t be envious; so are you). Does economic justice for all God’s children upset our notion of fairness? Entitlement? Have we really earned it?

Justice, including but not limited to economic justice, goes hand in hand with peace. In today’s reading, the prophet Isaiah foretold of a day of peace when God’s people beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. He didn’t say swords into stained glass and spears into pipe organs. Isaiah foretold of a day of world peace, when the implements and resources used for war and destruction would be used for building community.

Are you ready for that day Isaiah proclaims? Are you ready for Advent?

Jeff Taylor

Devotional 2-5-10

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus had been teaching a group of people on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. He told Simon Peter (as well as James and John) to go out into the deep waters and let down their nets. Verse five follows:

“Master,” Simon answered, “we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

As the familiar scripture goes, the catch was plentiful and Jesus instructed the three to abandon their nets and become ‘fishers of men’.

I can only imagine how incredibly weary one might be after a long night of casting nets. In addition to the physical strain, these men must have been disheartened to have nothing to show for their night of work. Maybe Simon Peter was thinking that it would be a waste of time to try again, or he wanted to grumble about how the only thing he’d like to try to catch now would be a nap. His actual words and actions, however, were doubtless and obedient.

Obedience and faith are so often interwoven. As parents do, I try to teach our kids to do things for themselves. I sometimes find myself trying to get one of them to surrender a toy in order for me to demonstrate how it works. Two-year-old Devon, for the most part, understands when I want to show her something. JT, at fourteen months, seems to think I just want to take away that precious toy to be cruel. Devon has a greater degree of faith in me, so (in instances like this) she is more obedient. In order for them to see what I want them to see, they have to trust me and do what I ask.

In order for us to see what God wants us to see, we have to trust Him and do what He expects of us. We as Christians are meant to be fishers of men. We need only cast the net by being faithful witnesses. My children are learning to trustingly heed my requests, just as all of us are children of God, on a similar journey of spiritual growth. I hope that today’s lesson from Luke inspire us all to become more aware of our own faithfulness to Him.

Natalie Wray

Devotional 1-3-10

Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2: 19)

In these Christmastide days, it is now our time to treasure and ponder all that we have seen and heard.


In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Those are the words of the first stanza of a poem by Christina Rossetti. (The words have been set to music in the Christmas carol, In the Bleak Midwinter.) It seems that Miss Rossetti assumed that the place of Jesus’ birth had weather like her own home in England. While the frosty wind, the frozen ground, and the snow on snow may not have been a part of the Bethlehem scene, I think she writes about the “feeling” of the time and place.

I enjoy Advent and Christmas. The festive days take energy, but there is something joyous in the air. I dread those days after New Year’s when all the “stuff” gets packed. The house seems so naked without all the special decorations and lights. The days are short; the darkness long. Resolutions are already forgotten or broken. It is the “bleak midwinter” (and winter has barely even started). It seems as if we have done so well in celebrating birth only to be confronted with the dark and cold of winter.

In Parker Palmer’s series of essays, Let Your Life Speak, he uses the seasons of nature to describe the seasons of our lives. He writes, “Winter is a demanding season – and not everyone appreciates the discipline. It is a season when death’s victory can seem supreme; few creatures stir, plants do not visibly grow, and nature feels like our enemy.” He then reminds us that “times of dormancy and deep rest are essential to all living things.” Nature is not dead in winter, even though it may seem that way. Wintertime is needed to prepare for springtime renewal and new growth.

It seems that way in life, too. We all have our valleys – our winter times when we feel failure, betrayal, depression, even death. The stable of Bethlehem looked nothing like a place for new life. The people of the day were more worried about getting registered and making their way back home than they were about something new in our world. Yet the gift of Christmas gives us One who walks with us; a compassionate friend who knows the hills and the valleys of our lives, who understands our bleak midwinter days as well as our times of joy and gladness. This One, our Christ, sits at the hand of God and can whisper in God’s ear to explain what its like to live in these mortal bodies of ours. This Christ walks with us through our winter days to lead us into the new birth which is real love and life, this day and forever.

Rossetti ends her carol with:

What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
That is all that we can do – give our hearts to Christ. And although the signs of midwinter are all around us, there is warmth of heart and soul. Christ is with us. Emmanuel has come.

Prayer:
Loving God, giver of Christmas and all our days, we bring to you the bleak midwinter days of our lives. May we treasure your Gift to us, trust your presence with us, and surrender our hearts to your love. Lead us through these days so that we may experience the gift of renewal and new growth; with Christ we pray. Amen.

Dr. Mark Connor
Western District Superintendent

Devotional 1-2-10

A Different New Year’s Resolution

Psalm 72: 12 – 13

For He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper. He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy….

My New Year’s resolution will focus on my selfishness. It is a selfishness that I think many of us share. I think many of us need to confess that we are tired of the poor. We ask ourselves, “Why don’t they just get a job?”, “Why do they spend what little money they have on junk?”, or “Why are they satisfied living like they do?” These are wonderful questions from those of us who ask them from our position of privilege.

Many who read these words will be offended by my thoughts about selfishness and defend themselves against such a claim. We will read the words of the Psalmist and agreed with the words from the 72nd Psalm. God loves us all! I mean who can disagree with that statement? Yes I agree with the Psalmist but I think we are all tired of the poor.

The debate on a national universal healthcare system is the latest indicator to me. In a country that is awashed with affluence, we who have insurance are debating whether we should give those who are without such a benefit a place at our table of full coverage healthcare. As we worship the God whom we are told “will deliver the needy when he cries…”. While we claim to be God’s agents in this world, we want to deny the same access to the healthcare that we enjoy to those who God reaches out to because those without are “him who has no helper”.

So this year I am not pledging to lose 10 lbs as I have for the last 20 years. I am praying to lose my selfishness. I am praying because I know that if the poor get the same healthcare as me, I am going to have to pay for it. It is a lot easier to be generous when it does not cost me anything.

Prayer: Gracious God, I pray this day and everyday in 2010 that I will be freed from the bondage of affluence and the chains of selfishness.

Rev. David Johnson
Carolinas Medical Center
Charlotte, NC